The Toronto Raptors continue to be one of the most bipolar teams in the NBA, as a month of March in which they totaled one victory has been followed by a fantastic April that has them back in the playoff hunt. They are joined in this unique schizophrenic club by the Washington Wizards, who are right in the thick of things after winning seven consecutive games.
Among the teams that Toronto will have to fend off to make it to the postseason, Washington might be the most deadly, as their backcourt consists of a scoring champion and automatic 30 points per night in Bradley Beal and a future Hall of Fame point guard in Russell Westbrook.
Injuries and a lackluster defense have limited Washington, as Thomas Bryant was lost early in the season, rookie first-rounder Deni Avdija is out for the year after a frightening ankle injury, and Rui Hachimura has missed time with sore knees. However, this team has hit its stride at the right time, which could be a disaster for Toronto.
As daunting as Washington looks right now, Toronto shouldn’t be petrified of them, as they have more than enough weapons to give the Wizards fits in the postseason. In fact, this team is better than Washington, top to bottom.
Raptors and Wizards win so Bulls drop to 12th. And Pacers won so they moved higher up in 9th.
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) April 22, 2021
3 reasons why Toronto Raptors will overtake the Wizards
Reason No. 1: Superior Frontcourt Depth
Do you know how bad your frontcourt has to be for a group consisting of Khem Birch, Freddie Gillespie, and Aron Baynes to clearly be superior? The Wizards didn’t replace Bryant in the best fashion, scooping up Alex Len, who was so putrid with Toronto that they chose Baynes over him, to start at center with Robin Lopez and Daniel Gafford backing them up.
Even if Hachimura was fully healthy, his scoring skill isn’t up to the caliber of Pascal Siakam, who should have little trouble scoring at least 20 points when matched up with the former Gonzaga star. Washington’s troubles on the floor this season start and end in the paint, and Toronto could take advantage of that.
The Toronto Raptors have better big men than the Wizards.
The Raptors don’t have Tim Duncan and David Robinson on the interior, but they do have a couple of very strong young guys who can outmuscle Len and Lopez for rebounds while finishing close looks after the defense vacates the area thanks to Toronto’s parade of shooters. With this new-look lineup, Toronto should be more robust down low than they were earlier in the year.
Make no mistake, Washington is not going to entrust their group of bigs to either take over the scoring load or be in charge of stopping Toronto’s shooters. However, rebounding and defense could be the X-factor in a matchup of two very even teams, and the Raptors have the edge in this category.
Reason No. 2: Head-to-Head success
The Raptors, who face the Wizards on May 6 as the season winds down, have taken them on twice before, and they have come out on top both times. the first meeting in February saw Toronto put up 137 points in a dominant 22-point win. Siakam, who scored 26 points, was one of seven Raptors in double-figures.
Their second meeting of the year was one of the most memorable victories all season for Toronto. Gary Trent Jr. ended up sending the Wizards home with an L that evening, draining a buzzer-beater in a 103-101 win that might as well be the signature moment from his Raptors tenure.
The Toronto Raptors have beaten the Wizards before.
Toronto showed that even with all of the weaponry Washington can deploy at a moment’s notice, they have real issues when it comes to getting stops late in games. With two of their better defenders in Troy Brown Jr. and Moritz Wagner traded at the deadline, that task might get a bit harder, even with Gafford in the middle of the paint.
The Raptors are playing better basketball of late because everyone has finally gotten healthy and Nick Nurse has settled on a consistent rotation. Washington had issues with the beaten-up Raptors, so they might have an even
No. 3: Washington’s poor defense
If you’re wondering how a team that gets a minimum of 50 points a night from Beal and the NBA’s foremost triple-double expert in Westbrook, look no further than the defense, which ranks 28th in the league in points allowed per game. As bad as Toronto has been this season on that end, they’ve clawed their way back to 13th place in that category.
Gafford has helped the Wizards plug their holes on that end, but Brooks’ schematics have gotten Washington in trouble. Only once in his 12-season head-coaching tenure has Brooks had a Top 10 defense, and he has ranked at least 28th or lower in points allowed in each of the last three seasons.
The Wizards could struggle to defend the Toronto Raptors.
Brooks is commiting to living and dying by this up-tempo, “shoot it if you got it” offense, and the Raptors should be able to exploit that if they are locked in. Beal is an average defender, and Westbrook is starting to erode in that regard. With a young squad not well-versed in the ways of NBA defense, the Raptors could be in for a record-setting day if they get clicking.
Washington is by no means an automatic win, but they should be considered at least an automatic 110 points if the Raptors are healthy. Their shooting against a patchwork Wizards defense should be enough to carry them to victory.